I.Q. Tests: And You Thought You Were So Smart...

Here's a weird fact I ran across;

An analysis of 1 million students in a New York school district showed that school cafeteria food affected IQ scores to an astonishing degree. When preservatives, coloring, dyes and artificial flavors were removed from the cafeteria menu researchers found that 70,000 students performed two or more IQ grade levels higher than before.

source

You are REALLY what you eat I guess.

2PacSade-

spelling

[edit on 12-12-2007 by 2PacSade]

Originally posted by 2PacSade

You are REALLY what you eat I guess.

2PacSade-

Wow
So my ex was right then..

I really AM a big sack of crap.

Originally posted by AGENT_T

Originally posted by 2PacSade

You are REALLY what you eat I guess.

2PacSade-

Wow

So my ex was right then..

I really AM a big sack of crap.

Well you'd better change your ways young man so you can grow up big & strong like Instant Toast Man!



2pacSade-

[edit on 12-12-2007 by 2PacSade]

reply to post by 2PacSade


Hey it's christmas season.They expect you to eat rubbish over the holidays.
It drops your iq and makes you more receptive to all those TV ads for toys that you wouldn't normally entertain..

Wanna see my new psp? DOH!!!

Intelligence is something you are born with and knowledge is something you acquire.

Some choose to develop and others choose to waste what God has given them. Then again, sometimes the simplest of lives is the happiest.

Originally posted by jbondo
Intelligence is something you are born with and knowledge is something you acquire.

Bit too simplistic for me. A person in a bad mood will rate lower in intelligence than someone in a good mood. Moods you werent born with.

Interesting thread. I by no means do much reading at all and if I do it is a fictional novel about war or something of the sort. I watch a lot of TV, but also travel quite a bit. I have been tested in a professional setting in Atlanta 17 times in my life with both Stanford Binet and Weschler. My IQ score has fluctuated about 5 points both up and down from 138 to 143. I by no means consider myself a genius but my IQ fits the range. I am a member of MENSA for the benefits, but not active in the society at all. I was not an overachiever in school, nor was I an all A student....school was boring and I wanted more "worldly" knowledge than school could give. After all...the second a book goes into print it is already out of date.

I do believe that I have a greater ability than most to figure out a problem quickly and to have my answer be correct based on an educated guess. Does this make me more intelligent than the next guy....nope. Just means that I have a broader knowledge of how things work and can picture in my head what the outcome may be al bit faster without necessarily having been in that particular situation before.

I would also like to suggest that I think cognitive reasoning is a HUGE intelligence factor and believe we will start seeing higher IQ scores from kids that play video games all day. My reasoning for this is that their brains have to process information at a rapid pace in order to keep up with the visual and auditory information they are receiving. This makes them less likely to have much of an attention span, but their reasoning and speed at which they may react to certain environmental situations will be much higher because they have "trained" their brains to think faster based on simulated situations in a game. This is how we train military. I have known many active duty soldiers over the years and can tell you that 75-80% of them are highly intelligent. Though they may not be able to carry on a conversation about theoretical physics they can understand and comprehend what is being said. Just because you read a book on something does not mean that is the way it really happened.....after all it is a book written by someone on a particular subject they felt the need to write about. This means that there are no truly objective reading materials in print or on the internet.

Watch as much TV as you like, and read as much as you like. You just have to know that not all of it is true and quite a bit is skewed to the creators viewpoint.

With all that said.....I am ready for some TV!

-B

[edit on 12/12/07 by Vasa Croe]

Originally posted by Skyfloating
reply to post by SpeakerofTruth

 

Taken in an overall context, intelligence IS increasing though

No it isn't. Awareness is and there is a huge difference between the two.

Originally posted by Skyfloating
A person in a bad mood will rate lower in intelligence than someone in a good mood. Moods you weren't born with.

May rate lower but that's not my point. Any number of things can effect performance on a test but one test is not likely the end of the line. Regarding moods, IMO propensity of certain moods can be genetically driven just as some mental illnesses are.

Some things are very simply explained, this being one. I strongly believe that many associated issues manifest themselves due to people trying to force one onto the other or visa versa when they are clearly separate. Intelligence certainly helps in the different aspects associated with knowledge gained, etc...but intelligence is not knowledge nor is knowledge intelligence.

Originally posted by Vasa Croe
I have known many active duty soldiers over the years and can tell you that 75-80% of them are highly intelligent.

That's quite an estimate/statement. I don't think even 75% of the general public is highly intelligent but then again maybe I'm just running into the wrong people. In fact I would estimate that less than 50% are highly intelligent. Where do you get your percentage? Mine is just a guess based on interaction.

reply to post by jbondo



Jbondo, I agree 1000%...

Originally posted by jbondo

Originally posted by Vasa Croe
I have known many active duty soldiers over the years and can tell you that 75-80% of them are highly intelligent.

That's quite an estimate/statement. I don't think even 75% of the general public is highly intelligent but then again maybe I'm just running into the wrong people. In fact I would estimate that less than 50% are highly intelligent. Where do you get your percentage? Mine is just a guess based on interaction.

Sorry...after re-reading my statement I should have clarified....75-80% of the ones I am in contact with I would consider highly intelligent. But most of these are in highly specialized areas of the military or involved in training and have seen plenty of active duty. I equate a good bit of their intelligence to being exposed to much more than the majority of civilians in regards to multiple cultures, climates, and situations.

Originally posted by jbondo
Intelligence is something you are born with and knowledge is something you acquire.

that doesnt mean anything to me, it seems to be a game of semantics.

reply to post by jbondo


The idea of being born and fixed to a certain level of intelligence doesnt sit well with me. It contradicts the idea of growth and improvement. Things grow. Body grows. Trees grow. Intelligence can grow.

Originally posted by kosmicjack
Evidently I.Q. tests are not so much a gauge of your mental capabilities but more of an indicator of the quality of the environment in which you live. Intelligence is relevant to your surroundings and adaptability. It makes sense but it also makes me concerned for a generation of T.V. addicted, video-game playing, celebrity-obsessed and over-consuming American children. What mental skills or useful intelligence is being produced by American culture?

www.newyorker.com...

The psychologist Michael Cole and some colleagues once gave members of the Kpelle tribe, in Liberia, a version of the WISC similarities test: they took a basket of food, tools, containers, and clothing and asked the tribesmen to sort them into appropriate categories. To the frustration of the researchers, the Kpelle chose functional pairings. They put a potato and a knife together because a knife is used to cut a potato. “A wise man could only do such-and-such,” they explained. Finally, the researchers asked, “How would a fool do it?” The tribesmen immediately re-sorted the items into the “right” categories. It can be argued that taxonomical categories are a developmental improvement—that is, that the Kpelle would be more likely to advance, technologically and scientifically, if they started to see the world that way. But to label them less intelligent than Westerners, on the basis of their performance on that test, is merely to state that they have different cognitive preferences and habits. And if I.Q. varies with habits of mind, which can be adopted or discarded in a generation, what, exactly, is all the fuss about?

Was the purpose of the article to show that the testing required by "No child left behind" doesn't prove anything?

As one who got A's in classes where the grades were dependent on programming projects and B's (or less) where the grades were dependent on tests, I don't put much stock in tests. Before I realized the above correlation, I thought grades were more a function of the teacher's effectiveness than my ability to learn.

When all's said & done a high IQ doesn't neccesarily give one a broad level of understanding. I know people with high IQ levels & school grades who; are avid readers, watch TV & also believe everything they're told by the mainstream media (a governments' dream) - in other words, they're "intellegent" but, stubborn in their arguments & incapable of seeing other sides of issues - their views remain fixed & they are offended if referred to as being "singleminded".

I cannot fathom these people, they seem to go through life & do their jobs without seriously questioning much at all.

At least there's a chance that people with a lower IQ can be blessed with free-thought - ergo, IQ = NOTHING!

Originally posted by Skyfloating
The idea of being born and fixed to a certain level of intelligence doesn't sit well with me. It contradicts the idea of growth and improvement. Things grow. Body grows. Trees grow. Intelligence can grow.

"Growth and improvement" affect knowledge not intelligence. Knowledge grows in accordance with exposure and the ability to understand and process information. With certain levels of intelligence certain levels of knowledge can be achieved. I will use myself as an example: I did quite well in math until I hit algebra. That's where I hit my peak in math and although I took algebra 1 twice, it did no good. I could have taken it 5 times and probably eventually squeezed by but that showed where my level of intelligence in math was. No amount of environment or experience or anything else was going to change that. In other words, I was born with that limitation of intelligence in the area of math. Even with that I am still an Engineer and quite adapt at drafting and design. So, I used knowledge in other areas to get around my shortcomings in math. Of course in those other areas I excelled and gained expertise because of my intelligence which allowed me to grasp that knowledge.

I for one don't by into the IQ bit for intelligence either. Actually, the definition of I.Q. is the contrary for scientifical satisfaction of acceptance in the real world;

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
Standardized IQ tests use scores to measure intelligence, but their accuracy as indicators of cognitive ability is suspect.

Really doesn't affect me one way or the other, but if it is such an undetermined example of intelectual ability, "Why use it at all?". I have personally taken an I.Q. test, 128, and it really "Made" me feel intelligent..LOL

Source of quote:

wzpo.ask.com

(shortened link)

[edit on 16-12-2007 by Jbird]

Originally posted by Skyfloating
reply to post by jbondo

 

The idea of being born and fixed to a certain level of intelligence doesnt sit well with me. It contradicts the idea of growth and improvement. Things grow. Body grows. Trees grow. Intelligence can grow.

Do you believe in natural selection? Intelligence, you are born with. The ability to make use of your inherited intelligence you need to grow into.

reply to post by Zenskeptical


Are you talking to me or sky?